Techniques for managing advertisement attributions while preserving user privacy

ABSTRACT

The embodiments set forth techniques for managing advertisement attributions. A first technique can be implemented by an “app store” application, and include the steps of (1) receiving, from a first user application, a request to view a second user application, where the request includes a set of digitally-signed parameters that are specific to an advertising campaign (provided by an advertisement network) for the second user application that is presented by the first user application. In turn, and in response to identifying that the second user application satisfies at least one criterion, the app store application provides the set of digitally-signed parameters to an advertisement metrics manager that: (i) verifies the set of digitally-signed parameters, and (ii) indicates, to the advertisement network, that business logic should be carried out in association with the first user application and the second user application. A second technique for managing advertisement attributions is also disclosed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 62/636,820, entitled “TECHNIQUES FOR MANAGINGADVERTISEMENT ATTRIBUTIONS WHILE PRESERVING USER PRIVACY,” filed Feb.28, 2018, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference inits entirety for all purposes.

FIELD

The described embodiments relate generally to managing advertisementswithin software applications. More particularly, the describedembodiments relate to managing attributions of actions taken in responseto advertisements while preserving user privacy.

BACKGROUND

It is common for software developers to incorporate electronicadvertisements into their software applications. For example, in manycases, developers can offer their software applications for free, andrely instead on revenue being generated by advertisements that aredisplayed within their software applications. One common approach forincorporating advertisements into a given software application involvesthe software developer including code segments that cause the softwareapplication to (1) obtain advertisements from an advertiser via anadvertising network, and (2) display the advertisements within a primaryuser interface (UI) of the software application. In this context, whenusers take an action in response to the advertisements, the advertisercan identify that the software developer should receive some form ofpayment. It is noted that an attribution of a user's action in responseto an advertisement is referred to herein as an “advertisementattribution.”

Unfortunately, conventional approaches for managing advertisementswithin software applications are prone to privacy issues that have yetto be mitigated. For example, in the above-described scenarios,sensitive information associated with a user—e.g., the advertisingidentifier of the device, which uniquely identifies the user, or theinternet protocol (IP) associated with a device being utilized by auser—can be exposed to the advertiser, which is undesirable for myriadreasons. One attempt to curb this issue involves heavily masking theinformation that is provided by the software applications to theadvertisers when users engage with the advertisements. However, suchmasking correspondingly decreases the accuracy by which the advertiseris able to identify the overall efficacy of advertising campaigns, whichis undesirable.

Accordingly, what is needed is an enhanced technique for effectivelyidentifying advertisement attributions within advertisement networkswhile preserving user privacy.

SUMMARY

Representative embodiments set forth herein disclose various techniquesfor managing advertisement attributions within advertisement networkswhile preserving user privacy.

According to some embodiments, a method for managing advertisementattributions associated with software applications is disclosed. Inparticular, the method can be implemented by an “app store” applicationexecuting on a computing device, and can include the steps of (1)receiving, from a first user application executing on the computingdevice, a request to view a second user application managed by the appstore application, wherein: (i) the request includes a set ofdigitally-signed parameters provided by an advertisement network that isassociated with the first user application, and (ii) the set ofdigitally-signed parameters is specific to an advertising campaign forthe second user application that is presented by the first userapplication. The method can further include the steps of (2) storing theset of digitally-signed parameters into a cache, and (3) identifyingthat an activity associated with the second user application on thecomputing device satisfies at least one criterion. In turn, the methodcan further include the step of (4) providing the set ofdigitally-signed parameters to an advertisement metrics manager that:(i) verifies the set of digitally-signed parameters, and (ii) indicates,to the advertisement network, that business logic should be carried outin association with the first user application and the second userapplication.

According to some embodiments, another method for managing advertisementattributes associated with software applications is disclosed. Inparticular, the method can also be implemented by the app storeapplication executing on the computing device, and can include the stepsof (1) receiving, from a first user application executing on thecomputing device, a request to view a second user application managed bythe app store application, wherein: (i) the request includes a set ofdigitally-signed parameters provided by an advertisement network that isassociated with the first user application, and (ii) the set ofdigitally-signed parameters is specific to an advertising campaign forthe second user application that is presented by the first userapplication. The method can further include the steps of (2) providingthe set of digitally-signed parameters to an advertisement metricsmanager, (3) receiving, from the advertisement metrics manager, anupdated set of digitally-signed parameters, and (4) storing the updatedset of digitally-signed parameters into a cache. Additionally, themethod can include the steps of (5) identifying that an activityassociated with the second user application on the computing devicesatisfies at least one criterion, and (6) providing the updated set ofdigitally-signed parameters to the advertisement network to indicatethat business logic should be carried out in association with the firstuser application and the second user application.

Other embodiments include a non-transitory computer readable storagemedium configured to store instructions that, when executed by aprocessor included in a computing device, cause the computing device tocarry out the various steps of any of the foregoing methods. Furtherembodiments include a computing device that is configured to carry outthe various steps of any of the foregoing methods.

Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings that illustrate, by way of example, the principlesof the described embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure will be readily understood by the following detaileddescription in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein likereference numerals designate like structural elements.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system diagram of computing devices that can beconfigured to perform the various techniques described herein, accordingto some embodiments.

FIGS. 2A-2C illustrate a method for a first approach for implementingthe advertisement attribution techniques set forth herein, according tosome embodiments.

FIGS. 3A-3D illustrate a method for a second approach for implementingthe advertisement attribution techniques set forth herein, according tosome embodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates a detailed view of a computing device that can beused to implement the various techniques described herein, according tosome embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Representative applications of methods and apparatus according to thepresent application are described in this section. These examples arebeing provided solely to add context and aid in the understanding of thedescribed embodiments. It will thus be apparent to one skilled in theart that the described embodiments may be practiced without some or allof these specific details. In other instances, well known process stepshave not been described in detail in order to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring the described embodiments. Other applications are possible,such that the following examples should not be taken as limiting.

In the following detailed description, references are made to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part of the description and in whichare shown, by way of illustration, specific embodiments in accordancewith the described embodiments. Although these embodiments are describedin sufficient detail to enable one skilled in the art to practice thedescribed embodiments, it is understood that these examples are notlimiting; such that other embodiments may be used, and changes may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the describedembodiments.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram 100 of different computing devicesthat can be configured to implement the various techniques describedherein, according to some embodiments. More specifically, FIG. 1illustrates a high-level overview of an advertisement network 102, anadvertisement metrics manager 104, and computing devices 106, which caneach be configured to communicate with one another via a network 120(e.g., the Internet). Although not illustrated in FIG. 1 , it should beunderstood that the advertisement network 102 can represent a collectionof computing devices (e.g., servers) that are configured to implementthe various functionalities of the advertisement network 102 set forthherein. It should also be understood that the advertisement metricsmanager 104 can represent a collection of computing devices (e.g.,servers) that are configured to implement the various functionalities ofthe advertisement metrics manager 104 set forth herein.

Although not illustrated in FIG. 1 , it should be understood that thevarious computing devices described herein—e.g., the servers associatedwith the advertisement network 102, the servers associated with theadvertisement metrics manager 104, the computing devices 106, etc.—caninclude at least one processor, at least one memory, and at least onestorage device. As is well-known, for a given computing device, the atleast one processor can be configured to work in conjunction with the atleast one memory and the at least one storage device to enable thecomputing device to operate in accordance with its intendedfunctionality set forth this disclosure. In particular, the at least oneprocessor can be configured to load an operating system (OS) from the atleast one storage device into the at least one memory for execution. Inturn, the OS can load different applications that enable the varioustechniques set forth herein to be implemented. For example, asillustrated in FIG. 1 , each computing device 106 can be configured toexecute an app store application 108 that enables one or more userapplications 110 to be installed on the computing device 106.Additionally, it should be understood that the OS can be configured toenable a variety of processes to execute on the computing device 106,e.g., hardware drivers, OS daemons, and the like. It should additionallybe understood that the various techniques set forth herein can beimplemented by additional entities, computing devices, etc., notillustrated in FIG. 1 . For example, the different functionalitiesimplemented by the advertisement network 102, the advertisement metricsmanager 104, and the computing devices 106 can be offloaded ontoadditional computing devices—or combined into fewer computingdevices—without departing from the scope of this disclosure.

According to some embodiments, and as described in greater detail below,the advertisement network 102, the advertisement metrics manager 104,and at least one computing device 106 can work in concert to implement afirst approach for implementing advertisement attribution techniques,which is described below in greater detail in conjunction with FIGS.2A-2C. Additionally, and as described in greater detail below, theadvertisement network 102, the advertisement metrics manager 104, and atleast one computing device 106 can work in concert to implement a secondapproach for implementing advertisement attribution techniques, which isdescribed below in greater detail in conjunction with FIGS. 3A-3D.

Accordingly, FIG. 1 sets forth a high-level overview of the manner inwhich the various computing devices illustrated in FIG. 1 can beconfigured to implement the various techniques described herein. A moredetailed breakdown of the first and second approaches for implementingadvertisement attribution techniques will now be provided below inconjunction with FIGS. 2A-2C and 3A-3D, respectively.

FIGS. 2A-2C illustrate a method for a first approach for implementingthe advertisement attribution techniques set forth herein, according tosome embodiments. In particular, FIG. 2A depicts a firstprocess—referred to herein as a “registration process”—that can takeplace between the advertisement network 102 and the advertisementmetrics manager 104. In one example, the advertisement network 102 canissue the request when the advertisement network 102 is affiliated withat least one user application 110 managed by (e.g., forsale/distribution within) the app store application 108. In particular,when the advertisement network 102 plans on serving advertisements for asecond user application 110 within a first user application 110, theregistration process can enable the advertisement network 102 to receivereliable indications of when the advertisements cause users to installthe second user application 110. It is noted that the registrationprocess depicted in FIG. 2A can take place between the advertisementnetwork 102 and the advertisement metrics manager 104 at any time, andany number of times, without departing from the scope of thisdisclosure.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the registration process begins at step 202, wherethe advertisement network 102 issues—to the advertisement metricsmanager 104—a registration request. In particular, the registrationrequest can include, for the advertisement network 102: an advertisementnetwork public key (PK_(AN)), and an advertisement network UniformResource Locator (URL). According to some embodiments, the advertisementnetwork 102 can manage both the advertisement network public key(PK_(AN)) and a counterpart advertisement network private key (SK_(AN))in accordance with asymmetrical cryptographic approaches. For example,the advertisement network public key (PK_(AN)) can be freelydistributed, while the advertisement network private key (SK_(AN)) is tobe retained only by the advertisement network 102. According to someembodiments, the advertisement network URL can point to any resource(e.g., one or more servers) associated with the advertisement network102 that enables the advertisement network 102 to receive information.In particular, this information can be associated with activities thattake place on computing devices 106 in relation to advertisements thatare distributed by the advertisement network 102 and displayed by userapplications 110 executing on the computing devices 106.

At step 204, the advertisement metrics manager 104 receives theregistration request from the advertisement network 102, and, in turn,the advertisement metrics manager 104 stores the advertisement networkpublic key (PK_(AN)) and the advertisement network URL within a storagethat is accessible to the advertisement metrics manager 104. It is notedthat the advertisement metrics manager 104 can store the advertisementnetwork public key (PK_(AN)) and the advertisement network URL using anyavailable approach, e.g., on local storage devices, networked storagedevices, cloud storage devices, and so on.

To satisfy the registration request, the advertisement metrics manager104, at step 206, generates an advertisement network ID that is uniqueto the advertisement network 102. It is noted that any known approachcan be used to generate the advertisement network ID (e.g., “123456”),e.g., using random generators, incrementable/decrementable startingvalues, and so on. In turn, the advertisement metrics manager 104associates the advertisement network ID with the advertisement networkpublic key (PK_(AN))/advertisement network URL. It is noted that anyknown approach can be used to establish the association between theadvertisement network ID and the advertisement network public key(PK_(AN))/advertisement network URL. For example, the advertisementmetrics manager 104 can store one or more <key, value> pairs for theadvertisement network 102, where the advertisement network ID isassigned as the key, and the advertisement network public key(PK_(AN))/advertisement network URL are assigned as the value. In anycase, at step 208, the advertisement metrics manager 104 provides theadvertisement network ID back to the advertisement network 102. In turn,at step 210, the advertisement network 102 receives and stores theadvertisement network ID. Thus, at the conclusion of FIG. 2A, theadvertisement network 102 has completed the registration process withthe advertisement metrics manager 104, and is now capable ofparticipating in the first approach for implementing the advertisementattribution techniques set forth herein.

FIG. 2B depicts a second process—referred to herein as an “installationprocess”— that can take place as a result of displaying, within userapplications 110, advertisements that are provided by the advertisementnetwork 102, according to some embodiments. As shown in FIG. 2B, at step212, a first user application 110 executing the computing device 106detects a condition in which to display an advertisement. It is notedthat any known approach can be utilized to display advertisements withinthe first user application 110, e.g., context-based ads, time-based ads,and so on. For example, the first user application 110 can be configuredto display an advertisement shortly after the first user application 110is launched on the computing device 106, after the first userapplication 110 has launched a threshold number of times, and so on. Itis also noted that any type of advertisement can be displayed within thefirst user application 110, e.g., audio-based ads, picture-based ads,animation-based ads, video-based ads, and so on.

At step 214, the first user application 110 issues, to the advertisementnetwork 102, a request for the advertisement. In turn, at step 216, theadvertisement network 102 returns, to the first user application 110, anadvertisement package that includes (1) advertisement information for asecond user application 110 (that is distinct from the first userapplication 110). For example, the advertisement information can includescreenshots/animations associated with the second user application 110,a name of the second user application 110, a price of the second userapplication 110, and so on. Additionally, the advertisement package caninclude (2) an application ID associated with the second userapplication 110, where the application ID can take the form of aninteger (e.g., “654321”), an alphanumeric character (e.g., “APP_ID_2”),and so on. According to some embodiments, the application ID is known tothe app store application 108 and is unique to the second userapplication 110, as the app store application 108 manages thedistribution of the second user application 110. In this regard, the appstore application 108 can be capable of displaying information about thesecond user application 110 and enabling the second user application 110to be installed on the computing device 106. As described in greaterdetail below, such an installation can take place as a result of a userresponding to the advertisement—also referred to herein as an“advertising campaign”—for the second user application 110 within thefirst user application 110 (e.g., tapping on the ad), which is describedin greater detail below in conjunction with step 224.

Additionally, and as shown in FIG. 2B, the advertisement package caninclude (3) (i) the advertisement network ID (generated at step 206 inFIG. 2A), (ii) a campaign ID, and (iii) a universally unique identifier(UUID). According to some embodiments, the campaign ID can be utilizedby the advertisement network 102 to effectively track a variety ofaspects associated with advertising campaigns. For example, a particularcampaign ID can be associated with the first user application 110, andcan also be associated with a collection of different advertisements forthe second user application 110 that are displayed within the first userapplication 110. In another example, a finer level of granularity can beachieved by associating different campaign IDs with differentadvertisements that are displayed within the first user application 110(or other user applications 110). In this manner, the advertisementnetwork 102 can identify particular advertisements that engage usersmore effectively, and, in turn, fine-tune their advertising approaches.According to some embodiments, the campaign ID can be implemented as anyknown data type for storing a value, e.g., an integer, an alphanumericcharacter, and so on. For example, the campaign ID can take the form ofa low ordinal integer. Additionally, and according to some embodiments,the UUID can serve as a value that uniquely identifies the advertisementpackage relative to other advertisement packages that are generated bythe advertisement network 102. For example, the UUID can be producedusing random generators, incrementable/decrementable starting values,and so on, and take the form of an integer, an alphanumeric character,and so on. According to some embodiments, and as described in greaterdetail below, the advertisement network 102 can retain a history of thedifferent UUIDs that are generated for prior advertisement packages toensure that the UUID is globally unique.

Additionally, and as shown in FIG. 2B, step 216 can involve theadvertisement network 102 digitally signing each of the advertisementnetwork ID, the campaign ID, and the UUID using the advertisementnetwork private key (SK_(AN)) counterpart to the advertisement networkpublic key (PK_(AN)). As is well-understood, the advertisement networkpublic key (PK_(AN))—which is possessed by the advertisement metricsmanager 104 by way of the registration process described above at step204 in conjunction with FIG. 2A—can be utilized to verify that thedigital signatures were, in fact, generated using the advertisementnetwork private key (SK_(AN)), which presumably is only possessed by andaccessible to the advertisement network 102. In this regard, theadvertisement metrics manager 104 can reliably authenticate that theadvertisement packages were, in fact, generated by the advertisementnetwork 102, which is described below in greater detail in conjunctionwith FIG. 2C.

As shown in FIG. 2B, at step 218, the first user application 110receives the advertisement package from the advertisement network 102,and displays the advertisement in accordance with the advertisementinformation included in the advertisement package. Continuing with theexample described above in conjunction with step 216, step 218 caninvolve the first application displaying the screenshots/animationsassociated with the second user application 110, the name of the seconduser application 110, the price of the second user application 110, andso on. For example, the foregoing can be displayed in an advertisementbanner, a pop-up, etc., that is overlaid onto a primary user interfaceof the first user application 110.

At step 220, the first user application 110—in response to receiving aselection of the ad—provides, to the app store application 108 via a URLassociated with the app store application 108, the advertisement packageparameters (2) and (3). According to some embodiments, step 220 can betriggered by a user interacting with the advertisement displayed by thefirst user application 110, e.g., selecting the advertisement by way oftouch input, mouse input, keyboard input, voice input, and so on. It isnoted that any known approach can be used to trigger the selection ofthe advertisement without departing from the scope of this disclosure.According to some embodiments, the application ID (associated with thesecond user application 110) can be included as a parameter within theURL associated with the app store application 108. For example, the URLcan include a base address, e.g., “https://app.store.com/us?App_ID={}&params={ }”, where the application ID and the parameters (2) and (3)are inserted into the respective parameter fields of the foregoingexample URL. In this regard, the URL, when launched within the computingdevice 106, can cause the app store application 108 to load and displayan information page associated with the second user application 110. Itis noted that the foregoing URL is merely exemplary, and that any formof a URL can be utilized without departing from the scope of thisdisclosure. Additionally, it is noted that other approaches can beutilized to supplement or eliminate the usage of URLs, e.g., opening(direct or indirect) communication links between the first userapplication 110 and the app store application 108, without departingfrom the scope of this disclosure.

At step 222, the app store application 108 receives and caches (i.e.,stores) the advertisement package parameters (2) and (3). According tosome embodiments, the app store application 108 can be configured toassociate the advertisement package parameters (2) and (3) with anexpiration time that, when satisfied, causes “stale” advertisementpackage parameters (2) and (3) to be removed from the cache. In thismanner, the app store application 108 can implement a “cool-off” periodthat effectively protects the advertisement network 102 fromunreasonably attributing installations of the second user application110 to the first user application 110. For example, if a user initiallyselects the advertisement for the second user application 110 within thefirst user application 110, fails to install the second user application110, and subsequently installs the second user application 110 (by theirown volition) at a later time that exceeds the expiration time, thenadvertisement network 102 will not attribute the installation of thesecond user application 110 to the advertisement displayed in the firstuser application 110. In this manner, the overall integrity and accuracyof the advertisement attribution techniques set forth herein can beenhanced. It is noted that different expiration times can be applied inaccordance with a variety of rules when caching advertisement packageparameters, e.g., the types of user applications 110 associated with theadvertisement package parameters, business agreements between the userapplications 110 and the advertisement networks 102, and so on. Forexample, the advertisement package can include an expiration time(specified by the advertisement network 102) for caching theadvertisement package that is to be enforced by the app storeapplication 108 upon receipt of the advertisement package.

At step 224, the app store application 108 displays a product page forthe second user application 110. For example, the product page can bedisplayed within a user interface associated with the app storeapplication 108, and can include any information associated with thesecond user application 110, e.g., purchase options, installationoptions, add-on options, and so on. At step 226, the app storeapplication 108 receives a request to install the second userapplication 110. This can involve, for example, a user selecting anoption to download and install the second user application 110 asfreeware, purchasing the second user application 110 on a fixed price orsubscription price basis, and so on. In any case, at step 228, and inresponse to the request to install the second user application, the appstore application 108 causes the second user application 110 to beinstalled on the computing device 106.

FIG. 2C depicts a third process—referred to herein as an “attributionprocess”—that can involve some form of activity associated with thesecond user application 110 taking place on the computing device 106subsequent to the installation of the second user application 110 on thecomputing device 106. According to some embodiments, and as shown inFIG. 2C, at step 230, the second user application 110 detects that anactivity associated with the second user application 110 satisfies atleast one criterion. The at least one criterion can include, forexample: the installation (itself) of the second user application 110(e.g., at step 228 of FIG. 2B), the second user application 110launching for a first time, the second user application 110 launching athreshold number of times, a user interacting with the second userapplication 110 for a threshold amount of time, the user performing atleast one particular action within the second user application 110, andso on. It is noted that the foregoing examples are not meant torepresent an exhaustive list, and that the criterion can encompass anyactivity associated with the operation of the computing device 106.Additionally, it is noted that it is not a requirement for the seconduser application 110 to self-detect the above-described criteria. On thecontrary, one or more software applications executing on the computingdevice 106—for example, an OS-level daemon, the app store application108 itself, etc.—can be configured to identify when the above-describedat least one criterion is satisfied.

In any case, at step 232, the second user application 110 provides, tothe app store application 108, the application ID (associated with thesecond user application 110). As described in greater detail below, theprovision of this information effectively notifies the app storeapplication 108 that some form of activity is occurring in associationwith the second user application 110. In this regard, assuming theexpiration time associated with the advertisement package cached by theapp store application 108 at step 222 of FIG. 2B has not been exceeded,the app store application 108 attributes the activity to theadvertisement (for the second user application 110) that was displayedand selected within the first user application 110. Accordingly, at step234, the app store application 108 looks up the cached advertisementpackage parameters (3) based on the application ID. In particular, theapp store application 108 is able to perform this lookup as a result ofcarrying out step 222 described above in conjunction with FIG. 2B, whereboth the advertisement package parameters (2) (i.e., the application ID(associated with the second user application 110)) and (3) were cachedby the app store application 108.

At step 236, the app store application 108 provides, to theadvertisement metrics manager 104, the cached advertisement packageparameters (3) and the application ID (associated with the second userapplication 110). In turn, at step 238, the advertisement metricsmanager 104 extracts the advertisement network ID (associated with theadvertisement network 102) included in the advertisement packageparameters (3), and utilizes the advertisement network ID to lookup: theadvertisement network public key (PK_(AN)), and the advertisementnetwork URL. Notably, the advertisement metrics manager 104 is able toperform this lookup as a result of carrying out step 206 described abovein conjunction with FIG. 2A, where both the advertisement network publickey (PK_(AN)) and the advertisement network URL were cached by theadvertisement metrics manager 104. At step 240, the advertisementmetrics manager 104—using the advertisement network public key(PK_(AN))—validates the digital signatures (established by theadvertisement network 102 at step 216 of FIG. 2B) on (i) theadvertisement network ID, (ii) the campaign ID, and (iii) the UUID (allincluded in the advertisement package parameters (3)). It is noted thatthis validation can help thwart malicious advertisement networks 102that are attempting to pose as the advertisement network 102, whichpresumably do not have access to the advertisement network private key(SK_(AN)). At step 242, the advertisement metrics manager 104 validatesthe (3)(ii) campaign ID. This can involve, for example, theadvertisement metrics manager 104 validating that the (3)(ii) campaignID takes the form of a low ordinal integer (as previously describedherein). Notably, this approach can enable the advertisement metricsmanager 104 to verify that the campaign ID conforms to the campaign IDstypically generated by the advertisement network 102, thereby providingan additional layer of security against rogue entities that attempt tospoof the advertisement network 102. Additionally, step 242 can involvethe ad metrics manager 104 validating the (3)(iii) UUID. This caninvolve, for example, the ad metrics manager 104 verifying that the(3)(iii) UUID was not previously utilized by a different advertisementpackage. In this manner, malicious “replay” schemes that otherwise mightcause the advertisement metrics manager 104/advertisement network 102 toerroneously award advertisement attributions can be mitigated.

When the validations at steps 240/242 are completed, the advertisementmetrics manager 104 provides, to the advertisement network 102, thenecessary information to indicate to the advertisement network 102 thatan advertisement attribution should be recognized. In particular, atstep 244, the advertisement metrics manager 104 provides—to theadvertisement network 102 via the advertisement network URL—the campaignID, and the application ID. In this regard, and according to someembodiments, the advertisement network 102 can utilize the campaign IDto identify that the first user application 110 displayed theadvertisement, and can further utilize the application ID to identifythat the second user application 110 was installed/utilized as a resultof the advertisement. In turn, at step 246, the advertisement network102 can carry out business logic to reflect the installation of thesecond user application 110 in association with the advertisementdisplayed by the first user application 110. This can involve, forexample, a first management entity associated with the first userapplication receiving payment from one or more of the advertisementnetwork or a second management entity associated with the second userapplication. It is noted that the foregoing example is not meant to belimiting, and that any business logic can be carried out by theadvertisement network 102 (or other entities) in response to the receiptof the information provided by the advertisement metrics manager 104 atstep 244.

FIGS. 3A-3D illustrate a method for a second approach for implementingthe advertisement attribution techniques set forth herein, according tosome embodiments. In particular, FIG. 3A depicts a firstprocess—referred to herein as a “registration process”—that can takeplace between the advertisement network 102 and the advertisementmetrics manager 104 to permit the advertisement network 102 toparticipate in the second approach for implementing the advertisementattribution techniques. As shown in FIG. 3A, the registration processbegins at step 302, where the advertisement network 102 issues—to theadvertisement metrics manager 104—a registration request that includes,for the advertisement network 102: an advertisement network public key(PK_(AN)), and an advertisement network URL (e.g., as described above atstep 202 in conjunction with FIG. 2A).

At step 304, the advertisement metrics manager 104 receives theregistration request from the advertisement network 102, and, in turn,the advertisement metrics manager 104 stores the advertisement networkpublic key (PK_(AN)) and the advertisement network URL within a storagethat is accessible to the advertisement metrics manager 104 (e.g., asdescribe above at step 204 in conjunction with FIG. 2A). To satisfy theregistration request, the advertisement metrics manager 104, at step306, generates an advertisement network ID that is unique to theadvertisement network 102, and associates the advertisement network IDwith the advertisement network public key (PK_(AN)) and theadvertisement network URL (e.g., as described above at step 206 inconjunction with FIG. 2A). At step 308, the advertisement metricsmanager 104 obtains an advertisement metrics manager public key(PK_(AMM)). According to some embodiments, the advertisement metricsmanager 104 can manage both the advertisement metrics manager public key(PK_(AMM)) and a counterpart advertisement metrics manager private key(SK_(AMM)) in accordance with asymmetrical cryptographic approaches,e.g., where the advertisement metrics manager public key (PK_(AMM)) isfreely-distributable, but the advertisement metrics manager private key(SK_(AMM)) is to be retained only by the advertisement metrics manager104. At step 310, the advertisement metrics manager 104 provides both(1) the advertisement network ID, and (2) the advertisement metricsmanager public key (PK_(AMM)) back to the advertisement network 102. Inturn, at step 312, the advertisement network 102 receives and storesboth (1) the advertisement network ID, and (2) the advertisement metricsmanager public key (PK_(AMM)). Thus, at the conclusion of FIG. 3A, theadvertisement network 102 has completed the registration process withthe advertisement metrics manager 104, and is now capable ofparticipating in the second approach for implementing the advertisementattribution techniques set forth herein.

FIGS. 3B-3C depict a second process—referred to herein as an“installation process”—that can take place as a result of displaying,within user applications 110, advertisements that are provided by theadvertisement network 102, according to some embodiments. As shown inFIG. 3B, at step 314, a first user application 110 executing thecomputing device 106 detects a condition in which to display anadvertisement (e.g., as described above at step 212 in conjunction withFIG. 2B). At step 316, the first user application 110 issues, to theadvertisement network 102, a request for the advertisement (e.g., asdescribed above at step 214 in conjunction with FIG. 2B).

In turn, at step 318, the advertisement network 102 returns, to thefirst user application 110, an advertisement package that includes (1)advertisement information for a second user application 110 (that isdistinct from the first user application 110) (e.g., as described aboveat step 216 in conjunction with FIG. 2B). As shown in FIG. 3B, theadvertisement package can include (2) (i) the advertisement network ID,(ii) a campaign ID, and (iii) an application ID associated with thesecond user application 110 (e.g., as also described above at step 216in conjunction with FIG. 2B). As also shown in FIG. 3B, step 318 caninvolve the advertisement network 102 digitally signing each of theadvertisement network ID, the campaign ID, and the application IDassociated with the second user application 110, using the advertisementnetwork private key (SK_(AN)) counterpart to the advertisement networkpublic key (PK_(AN)) (e.g., as also described above at step 216 inconjunction with FIG. 2B). At the conclusion of step 318, theadvertisement network 102 provides, to the first user application 110,the advertisement package established at step 318.

At step 320, the first user application 110 receives the advertisementpackage from the advertisement network 102, and displays theadvertisement in accordance with the advertisement information includedin the advertisement package (e.g., as described above at step 218 inconjunction with FIG. 2B). At step 322, the first user application110—in response to receiving a selection of the ad—provides theadvertisement package parameters (2) to the app store application 108via a URL associated with the app store application 108 (e.g., asdescribed above at step 220 in conjunction with FIG. 2B).

At step 324, the app store application 108 caches (i.e., stores) theadvertisement package parameters (2) in accordance with an expirationtime (e.g., as described above at step 222 in conjunction with FIG. 2B).At step 326, the app store application 108 displays a product page forthe second user application 110 (e.g., as described above at step 224 inconjunction with FIG. 2B). At step 328, the app store application 108receives a request to install the second user application 110 (e.g., asdescribed above at step 226 in conjunction with FIG. 2B). At step 330,the app store application 108 causes the second user application 110 tobe installed on the computing device 106 (e.g., as described above atstep 228 in conjunction with FIG. 2B).

Turning now to FIG. 3C, at step 332, the app store application 108provides, to the advertisement metrics manager 104, the advertisementpackage parameters (2). At step 334, the app store application 108 looksup the advertisement network public key (PK_(AN)) based on theadvertisement package parameters (2)(i) advertisement network ID. Inturn, at step 336, the advertisement metrics manager 104 validates andremoves the digital signatures of the advertisement package parameters(2)—in particular, the (i) advertisement network ID, (ii) campaign ID,and (iii) application ID—using the advertisement network public key(PK_(AN)) (e.g., as described above at step 240 in conjunction with FIG.2C).

At step 337, the app store application 108 confirms that theadvertisement package parameters (2)(ii) campaign ID is valid. Accordingto some embodiments, confirming the validity of the (2)(ii) campaign IDcan involve verifying that the campaign ID is in an expected form (e.g.,a low ordinal integer, as described herein). At step 338, theadvertisement metrics manager 104 obtains the advertisement network URLbased on the i) advertisement network ID included in the advertisementpackage parameters (2). At step 340, the advertisement metrics manager104 generates a UUID (e.g., as described above at step 216 inconjunction with FIG. 2B). At step 342, the advertisement metricsmanager 104 forms an installation package that includes the followingparameters: (1) the advertisement network URL, and (2) (i) theapplication ID associated with the second user application, (ii) thecampaign ID, and (iii) the UUID, to form an installation package, whereall of the parameters (2) are all digitally signed using anadvertisement metrics manager private key (SK_(AMM)) counterpart to theadvertisement metrics manager public key (PK_(AMM)). At step 344, theadvertisement metrics manager 104 provides the installation package tothe app store application 108. In turn, at step 346, the app storeapplication 108 caches the installation package in accordance with anexpiration time (e.g., as described above at step 222 in conjunctionwith FIG. 2B).

FIG. 3D depicts a third process—referred to herein as an “attributionprocess”—that can involve some form of activity associated with thesecond user application 110 taking place on the computing device 106subsequent to the installation of the second user application 110 on thecomputing device 106. According to some embodiments, and as shown inFIG. 3D, at step 348, the second user application 110 detects that anactivity of the second user application 110 satisfies at least onecriterion (e.g., as described above at step 230 in conjunction with FIG.2C). At step 350, the second user application 110 provides, to the appstore application 108, the application ID associated with the seconduser application 110 (e.g., as described above at step 232 inconjunction with FIG. 2C). At step 352, the app store application 108looks up the advertisement network URL in the cached installationpackage parameter (1) based on the application ID associated with thesecond user application 110—and, at step 354, the app store application108 looks up the cached installation package parameters (2) based on theapplication ID (e.g., as described above at step 234 in conjunction withFIG. 2C). At step 356, the app store application 108 provides to theadvertisement network 102 via the advertisement network URL, the cachedinstallation package parameters (2).

At step 358, the advertisement network 102 verifies, using theadvertisement metrics manager public key (PK_(AMM)) (received by theadvertisement network 102 at step 312 of FIG. 3A), the digitalsignatures for the installation package parameters (2) (i) advertisementnetwork ID, (ii) campaign ID, and (iii) UUID (e.g., as described aboveat step 240 in conjunction with FIG. 2C). At step 360, the advertisementnetwork 102 validates that the (2)(iii) UUID was not previously utilizedby a different installation package (e.g., as described above at step242 in conjunction with FIG. 2C). Finally, at step 362, theadvertisement network 102 carries out business logic to reflect theinstallation of the second user application 110 in association with theadvertisement displayed by the first user application 110.

FIG. 4 illustrates a detailed view of a computing device 400 that can beused to implement the various techniques described herein, according tosome embodiments. In particular, the detailed view illustrates variouscomponents that can be included in any of the advertisement network 102,the advertisement metrics manager 104, and the computing device 106described above in conjunction with FIG. 1 . As shown in FIG. 4 , thecomputing device 400 can include a processor 402 that represents amicroprocessor or controller for controlling the overall operation ofthe computing device 400. The computing device 400 can also include auser input device 408 that allows a user of the computing device 400 tointeract with the computing device 400. For example, the user inputdevice 408 can take a variety of forms, such as a button, keypad, dial,touch screen, audio input interface, visual/image capture inputinterface, input in the form of sensor data, and so on. Still further,the computing device 400 can include a display 410 that can becontrolled by the processor 402 (e.g., via a graphics component) todisplay information to the user. A data bus 416 can facilitate datatransfer between at least a storage device 440, the processor 402, and acontroller 413. The controller 413 can be used to interface with andcontrol different equipment through an equipment control bus 414. Thecomputing device 400 can also include a network/bus interface 411 thatcouples to a data link 412. In the case of a wireless connection, thenetwork/bus interface 411 can include a wireless transceiver.

As noted above, the computing device 400 also includes the storagedevice 440, which can comprise a single disk or a collection of disks(e.g., hard drives). In some embodiments, storage device 440 can includeflash memory, semiconductor (solid-state) memory or the like. Thecomputing device 400 can also include a Random-Access Memory (RAM) 420and a Read-Only Memory (ROM) 422. The ROM 422 can store programs,utilities or processes to be executed in a non-volatile manner. The RAM420 can provide volatile data storage, and stores instructions relatedto the operation of applications executing on the computing device 400.

As described above, one aspect of the present technology is thegathering and use of data available from various sources to improve thedelivery to users of invitational content or any other content that maybe of interest to them. The present disclosure contemplates that in someinstances, this gathered data may include personal information data thatuniquely identifies or can be used to contact or locate a specificperson. Such personal information data can include demographic data,location-based data, telephone numbers, email addresses, twitter ID's,home addresses, data or records relating to a user's health or level offitness (e.g., vital signs measurements, medication information,exercise information), date of birth, or any other identifying orpersonal information.

The present disclosure recognizes that the use of such personalinformation data, in the present technology, can be used to the benefitof users. For example, the personal information data can be used todeliver targeted content that is of greater interest to the user.Accordingly, use of such personal information data enables users tocalculated control of the delivered content. Further, other uses forpersonal information data that benefit the user are also contemplated bythe present disclosure. For instance, health and fitness data may beused to provide insights into a user's general wellness, or may be usedas positive feedback to individuals using technology to pursue wellnessgoals.

The present disclosure contemplates that the entities responsible forthe collection, analysis, disclosure, transfer, storage, or other use ofsuch personal information data will comply with well-established privacypolicies and/or privacy practices. In particular, such entities shouldimplement and consistently use privacy policies and practices that aregenerally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmentalrequirements for maintaining personal information data private andsecure. Such policies should be easily accessible by users, and shouldbe updated as the collection and/or use of data changes. Personalinformation from users should be collected for legitimate and reasonableuses of the entity and not shared or sold outside of those legitimateuses. Further, such collection/sharing should occur after receiving theinformed consent of the users. Additionally, such entities shouldconsider taking any needed steps for safeguarding and securing access tosuch personal information data and ensuring that others with access tothe personal information data adhere to their privacy policies andprocedures. Further, such entities can subject themselves to evaluationby third parties to certify their adherence to widely accepted privacypolicies and practices. In addition, policies and practices should beadapted for the particular types of personal information data beingcollected and/or accessed and adapted to applicable laws and standards,including jurisdiction-specific considerations. For instance, in the US,collection of or access to certain health data may be governed byfederal and/or state laws, such as the Health Insurance Portability andAccountability Act (HIPAA); whereas health data in other countries maybe subject to other regulations and policies and should be handledaccordingly. Hence different privacy practices should be maintained fordifferent personal data types in each country.

Despite the foregoing, the present disclosure also contemplatesembodiments in which users selectively block the use of, or access to,personal information data. That is, the present disclosure contemplatesthat hardware and/or software elements can be provided to prevent orblock access to such personal information data. For example, in the caseof advertisement delivery services, the present technology can beconfigured to allow users to select to “opt in” or “opt out” ofparticipation in the collection of personal information data duringregistration for services or anytime thereafter. In addition toproviding “opt in” and “opt out” options, the present disclosurecontemplates providing notifications relating to the access or use ofpersonal information. For instance, a user may be notified upondownloading an app that their personal information data will be accessedand then reminded again just before personal information data isaccessed by the app.

Moreover, it is the intent of the present disclosure that personalinformation data should be managed and handled in a way to minimizerisks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use. Risk can beminimized by limiting the collection of data and deleting data once itis no longer needed. In addition, and when applicable, including incertain health related applications, data de-identification can be usedto protect a user's privacy. De-identification may be facilitated, whenappropriate, by removing specific identifiers (e.g., date of birth,etc.), controlling the amount or specificity of data stored (e.g.,collecting location data a city level rather than at an address level),controlling how data is stored (e.g., aggregating data across users),and/or other methods.

Therefore, although the present disclosure broadly covers use ofpersonal information data to implement one or more various disclosedembodiments, the present disclosure also contemplates that the variousembodiments can also be implemented without the need for accessing suchpersonal information data. That is, the various embodiments of thepresent technology are not rendered inoperable due to the lack of all ora portion of such personal information data. For example, content can beselected and delivered to users by inferring preferences based onnon-personal information data or a bare minimum amount of personalinformation, such as the content being requested by the deviceassociated with a user, other non-personal information available to thecontent delivery services, or publicly available information.

The various aspects, embodiments, implementations or features of thedescribed embodiments can be used separately or in any combination.Various aspects of the described embodiments can be implemented bysoftware, hardware or a combination of hardware and software. Thedescribed embodiments can also be embodied as computer readable code ona computer readable medium. The computer readable medium is any datastorage device that can store data which can thereafter be read by acomputer system. Examples of the computer readable medium includeread-only memory, random-access memory, CD-ROMs, DVDs, magnetic tape,hard disk drives, solid-state drives, and optical data storage devices.The computer readable medium can also be distributed overnetwork-coupled computer systems so that the computer readable code isstored and executed in a distributed fashion.

The foregoing description, for purposes of explanation, used specificnomenclature to provide a thorough understanding of the describedembodiments. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art thatthe specific details are not required in order to practice the describedembodiments. Thus, the foregoing descriptions of specific embodimentsare presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the described embodiments to theprecise forms disclosed. It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill inthe art that many modifications and variations are possible in view ofthe above teachings.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for managing advertisement attributionsassociated with software applications, the method comprising: by an appstore application executing on a first computing device: receiving, froma first application executing on the first computing device, a requestto access information associated with a second application managed bythe app store application, wherein: (i) the request includes a set ofparameters that is provided by an advertisement network associated withthe first application, (ii) the set of parameters corresponds to anadvertising campaign for the second application that is presented by thefirst application, and specifies at least one activity that, whenperformed in association with the second application, satisfies at leastone criterion of the advertising campaign; receiving, from the secondapplication, an indication that activity associated with the secondapplication has been performed; determining, based on the indication,that the at least one criterion is satisfied; and providing, to anadvertisement metrics manager executing on a second computing device,the indication and the set of parameters; and by the advertisementmetrics manager executing on the second computing device: determining,based on the indication and the set of parameters, that an advertisementattribution should be processed; establishing a connection with theadvertisement network; and transmitting at least a portion of the set ofparameters to the advertisement network to cause the advertisementnetwork to carry out at least one action.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the set of parameters includes: (i) an advertisement networkidentifier (ID) associated with the advertisement network, (ii) acampaign ID that identifies a type of the advertising campaign, and(iii) a universally unique identifier (UUID) that is unique to the setof parameters relative to other sets of parameters generated by theadvertisement network.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein a private keyassociated with the advertisement network is used to digitally-sign (i)the advertisement network ID, (ii) the UUID, and (iii) the campaign ID.4. The method of claim 3, wherein the advertisement metrics managerverifies the set of parameters using a public key counterpart to theprivate key.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein verifying the set ofparameters includes identifying that the campaign ID has not beenpreviously verified within a different set of parameters.
 6. The methodof claim 1, further comprising, by the app store application executingon the first computing device: prior to receiving the indication:storing the set of parameters into a cache of the first computingdevice, wherein the cache stores a plurality of sets of parameters, andeach set of parameters in the plurality of sets of parameterscorresponds to a respective advertising campaign; and removing the setof parameters from the cache in response to: (i) providing the set ofparameters to the advertisement metrics manager, or (ii) identifyingthat the set of parameters has been stored in the cache for a thresholdamount of time.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising, by the appstore application executing on the first computing device: prior toreceiving the indication: receiving a second request to install thesecond application on the first computing device; and causing the secondapplication to be installed on the first computing device.
 8. The methodof claim 7, wherein the at least one criterion includes: an installationof the second application on the first computing device, the secondapplication launching for a first time, the second application launchinga threshold number of times, a user interacting with the secondapplication for a threshold amount of time, and the user performing atleast one particular action within the second application.
 9. The methodof claim 1, wherein the at least one action comprises a first managemententity associated with the first application receiving payment from oneor more of the advertisement network or a second management entityassociated with the second application.
 10. A system, comprising: afirst computing device that executes an app store application configuredto carry out steps that include: receiving, from a first applicationexecuting on the first computing device, a request to access informationassociated with a second application managed by the app storeapplication, wherein: (i) the request includes a set of parameters thatis provided by an advertisement network associated with the firstapplication, (ii) the set of parameters corresponds to an advertisingcampaign for the second application that is presented by the firstapplication, and specifies at least one activity that, when performed inassociation with the second application, satisfies at least onecriterion of the advertising campaign; receiving, from the secondapplication, an indication that activity associated with the secondapplication has been performed; determining, based on the indication,that the at least one criterion is satisfied; and providing, to anadvertisement metrics manager executing on a second computing device,the indication and the set of parameters; and the second computingdevice, wherein the advertisement metrics manager executing on thesecond computing device is configured to carry out steps that include:determining, based on the indication and the set of parameters, that anadvertisement attribution should be processed; establishing a connectionwith the advertisement network; and transmitting at least a portion ofthe set of parameters to the advertisement network to cause theadvertisement network to carry out at least one action.
 11. The systemof claim 10, wherein the app store application executing on the firstcomputing device is further configured to carry out steps that include:prior to receiving the indication: storing the set of parameters into acache of the first computing device, wherein the cache stores aplurality of sets of parameters, and each set of parameters in theplurality of sets of parameters corresponds to a respective advertisingcampaign; and remove the set of parameters from the cache in responseto: (i) providing the set of parameters to the advertisement metricsmanager, or (ii) identifying that the set of parameters has been storedin the cache for a threshold amount of time.
 12. The system of claim 10,wherein the app store application executing on the first computingdevice is further configured to carry out steps that include: prior toreceiving the indication: receiving a second request to install thesecond application on the first computing device; and causing the secondapplication to be installed on the first computing device.
 13. Thesystem of claim 10, wherein the at least one criterion includes: aninstallation of the second application on the first computing device,the second application launching for a first time, the secondapplication launching a threshold number of times, a user interactingwith the second application for a threshold amount of time, and the userperforming at least one particular action within the second application.14. At least one non-transitory computer readable storage medium storinginstructions that, when executed by first and second computing devices,cause: the first computing device to execute an app store applicationconfigured to carry out steps that include: receiving, from a firstapplication executing on the first computing device, a request to accessinformation associated with a second application managed by the appstore application, wherein: (i) the request includes a set of parametersthat is provided by an advertisement network associated with the firstapplication, (ii) the set of parameters corresponds to an advertisingcampaign for the second application that is presented by the firstapplication, and specifies at least one activity that, when performed inassociation with the second application, satisfies at least onecriterion of the advertising campaign; receiving, from the secondapplication, an indication that activity associated with the secondapplication has been performed; determining, based on the indication,that the at least one criterion is satisfied; and providing, to anadvertisement metrics manager executing on the second computing device,the indication and the set of parameters; and the advertisement metricsmanager executing on the second computing device to carry out steps thatinclude: determining, based on the indication and the set of parameters,that an advertisement attribution should be processed; establishing aconnection with the advertisement network; and transmitting at least aportion of the set of parameters to the advertisement network to causethe advertisement network to carry out at least one action.
 15. The atleast one non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 14,wherein the set of parameters includes: (i) an advertisement networkidentifier (ID) associated with the advertisement network, (ii) acampaign ID that identifies a type of the advertising campaign, and(iii) a universally unique identifier (UUID) that is unique to the setof parameters relative to other sets of parameters generated by theadvertisement network.
 16. The at least one non-transitory computerreadable storage medium of claim 15, wherein a private key associatedwith the advertisement network is used to digitally-sign (i) theadvertisement network ID, (ii) the UUID, and (iii) the campaign ID. 17.The at least one non-transitory computer readable storage medium ofclaim 16, wherein the advertisement metrics manager verifies the set ofparameters using a public key counterpart to the private key.
 18. The atleast one non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 17,wherein verifying the set of parameters includes identifying that thecampaign ID has not been previously verified within a different set ofparameters.
 19. The at least one non-transitory computer readablestorage medium of claim 14, wherein the app store application executingon the first computing device is further configured to carry out stepsthat include: prior to receiving the indication: storing the set ofparameters into a cache of the first computing device, wherein the cachestores a plurality of sets of parameters, and each set of parameters inthe plurality of sets of parameters corresponds to a respectiveadvertising campaign; and removing the set of parameters from the cachein response to: (i) providing the set of parameters to the advertisementmetrics manager, or (ii) identifying that the set of parameters has beenstored in the cache for a threshold amount of time.
 20. The at least onenon-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein theapp store application executing on the first computing device is furtherconfigured to carry out steps that include: prior to receiving theindication: receiving a second request to install the second applicationon the first computing device; and causing the second application to beinstalled on the first computing device.